MAF is Bringing Together Coops in the Mission

On Saturday, March 14th the Mission Asset Fund hosted its first Charla sobre Cooperativas (Community Discussion about Cooperatives). The event was held at the Centro del Pueblo and the following cooperatives participated in the Charla:
Mission SF Federal Credit Union, Rainbow Grocery, San Francisco Community Land Trust, TechCollective, Design Action Collective, and TeamWorks
Over 20 community members were in attendance and engaged in a lively discussion about how cooperatives are different from a regular business, private homeownership or a bank. Coop representatives shared about their experiences with regards to the communication challenges of working with a group of people in which everyone has decision making authority. Coop members also addressed the benefits and challenges of coops’ legal, tax and accounting structures.

Participants and community members all agreed that cooperatives have the opportunity to play a vital role in helping to rebuild the economy.

Aside from learning about community development credit unions, limited equity housing cooperatives, and worker owner cooperatives, participants also got to sample delicious pizza from Arizmendi Bakery, a cooperative bakery.

MAF is committed to supporting and promoting cooperatives. The cooperative model has the potential of bringing people together to promote social and economic development opportunities rather than just focusing on profits.